Creatures of the Night
by Midna3452
Summary: Sitting around the campfire in the dead of night, Darren decides to tell Evra's children a tale about a disturbing creature. But, stories are only stories... right? A Oneshot, taking place during "Book 6: Hunters of the Dusk."


**A/N: My favorite book series certainly deserves as much love as I can possibly give it! Another oneshot born from a one-word prompt; this time, the word was "Tremble." Enjoy~**

 ***This story takes place during _Book 6: Hunters of the Dusk.*_**

* * *

 **Creatures of the Night**

"I have a creepy story to tell you. But, you have to keep it secret; I don't want your mom and dad knowing that I freaked you out. Then I'd never be allowed to tell you stories ever again! Do you promise not to tell?"

At this query, Darren paused, raising a questioning eyebrow at the three children sitting in a circle around him. They eagerly awaited the promised tale- to them, the scarier it was, the better. In unison, the siblings nodded. Darren grinned back at them.

"Good." He leaned forward and gestured for the kids to do the same, exaggeratedly looking around to make sure no one was listening. His face was cast in strange, moving shadows from the lamplight between them- the only nearby source of brightness in an otherwise black night. "Now, this story isn't about an event; it's about a person. Well, actually, I don't know if you can even _call_ him a person. This creature is so disgusting, _so_ incredibly unbelievable, that not many people think I'm telling the truth about him. But trust me- every word I say is absolute fact.

"Now, to start with, this creature is _big._ He can easily take down a ferocious bear with his hands tied behind his back. And guess what?" Here, Darren paused. The children gazed at him questioningly. He could see the youngest one's eyes already beginning to widen to unnatural proportions. "He wouldn't even break a sweat while killing that bear. And he'd probably enjoy it, too!"

Three identical gasps of surprise. Darren let out a mirthless laugh.

"This terrifying creature has hair so matted and discolored, a comb made out of steel would break the second you tried to run it through- just like the Wolf Man's, you could say. His entire demeanor is so disheveled that, if you saw him out of the corner of your eye, you'd wonder whether you'd merely seen a strangely-shaped piece of shrubbery instead of a living thing. Also, this creature is _loud_ ; every sound it makes is horrifyingly deep and grating, it will haunt your dreams to the end of your days."

Darren let this fact linger in the air for a few seconds, secretly taking stock of his three listeners as he did so. _All_ of them looked unnerved in one way or another; the youngest had even begun to tremble. The half-vampire knew they wouldn't last much longer, so he decided to wrap things up.

"Yes, this creature is loud, ferocious, and utterly disgusting. But, do you know the worst part?" Another pause for dramatic effect. The middle child, one of the boys, wrapped his arms around himself nervously. The girl's lip trembled dramatically. The eldest child tried to look nonchalant, though his growing uneasiness was more than apparent. Darren took these reactions as a sign to continue.

"The worst part is... _the creature is at the Cirque with us right now!"_

On cue, a large, overbearing shape leapt out from behind the nearest tent, growling and rushing towards the children. They all screamed. The eldest instinctively stepped in front of his brother to guard him, but unfortunately his sister was farther away, just out of his protective reach. Thus, she was grabbed by the creature and hoisted high into the air. She screamed louder as she was thrown up, up into the night sky...

...and came down laughing when she realized who was waiting to catch her down below.

"Vancha!" she giggled happily, nuzzling up to the green-haired prince as he caught her safely in one arm. Vancha himself flashed her a smile, and then turned this expression on the other two children.

"By the gods, you three sure have a set of lungs on you; I think I might be partially deaf now...," he said, using his free hand to dig his pinky finger into his ear. The young boys' terrified expressions quickly turned into humongous grins.

"Yes, _this_ is the creature I was talking about," Darren spoke up, standing and putting a hand on Vancha's shoulder. "Vancha March: the most unhygienic vampire in existence!"

"Most people would say they're offended, but I'll take that as a compliment!" the Prince exclaimed loudly, clapping Darren on the back. The young half-vampire noticed with a grimace that Vancha used the hand that he'd just recently picked something out of his ear with to do so.

"That was _good_ , Uncle Darren!" the eldest child said, jumping up and down with excitement. The middle child nodded, still half-hiding behind his brother. The girl in Vancha's arms giggled as she was thrown into the air again.

"I thought I said you could tell my kids a _story,_ not terrorize them," came a new, sudden voice. Evra appeared around the corner of a tent and stopped to survey the scene in front of him, hands on his hips and one eyebrow raised. Darren shrugged and gave him a nervous chuckle.

"You didn't say what _kind_ of story I could tell them," the half-vampire countered. Evra simply rolled his eyes. He walked over to Vancha and held out his arms.

"Thank you," he said as his daughter was placed safely in his grasp. The snake-man wrinkled his nose. "...You need a bath. In fact, _all_ of you should have a bath."

 _"Aww, Dad!"_ came the tripled cry, in perfect unison.

"Nope! No excuses; come on!" He turned and, after giving Darren one last chiding look, gestured for his children to follow him back to their tent. Once they were out of sight, the vampires turned to each other.

"Nice one," Darren said, giving Vancha a thumbs-up. The green-haired vampire grinned back.

"Yes, well, I could've done without the hair comment." He lovingly brushed a hand over the top of his head. It did not, Darren noticed, actually go _through_ any of the green locks. "I personally think it's _wonderful_."

"...Charna's guts, you're delusional." Darren shook his head in mock concern, and then both Princes burst out laughing.

"Darren! I would like your assistance with something!" Mr. Crepsley's faint voice traveled across the wind from somewhere in the middle of the Cirque.

"Oh, your mother's calling," Vancha teased. The half-vampire glared at him, desperately trying to hold back another fit of laughter. And then, with one final rude gesture from Vancha, Darren set off for his mentor's tent, already planning his next story to tell.


End file.
